In-depth conversations with leaders from industry and academia who are shaping the future of semiconductors. Their technology insights, market challenges, social impact, leadership lessons, and guidance for the next generation.
Senior Advisor and Board Member
Oreste Donzella
Oreste Donzella is a semiconductor industry veteran with over three decades of experience in semiconductor manufacturing and capital equipment companies.
Oreste is currently Senior Advisor at KLA, imec, KronosAI and AlixPartners and he serves the board of Aion Silicon and Synergie CAD group as independent director.
In his last full time employment role at KLA, Oreste served as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, leading key corporate growth initiatives and working closely with external stakeholders, such as financial investors and end customers in the broad electronics ecosystem.
Prior to his current role, Oreste was Executive Vice President, managing the Electronics, Packaging and Component (EPC) business group at KLA Corporation, which included multiple product divisions, targeting growth opportunities in specialty semiconductors, packaging, printed circuit board and display markets.
Previously, Oreste was the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of KLA. In this role, he oversaw corporate marketing activities, market analytics and forecast, and company-wide collaborations with the broad electronics industry.
In the years before his CMO role, Oreste led the world-wide field applications engineering team, and was responsible for Customer Engagement projects and product portfolio optimization for wafer inspection platforms at KLA.
Previously, Oreste was Vice President and General Manager of the Surfscan and SWIFT divisions at KLA-Tencor. In these positions, he was responsible for the unpatterned wafer inspection, wafer geometry, and macro inspection business, overseeing new products development, sales, and marketing activities, customer support, and ultimately, division financial performance (P&L).
Prior to joining KLA in 1999, he spent almost seven years at Texas Instruments and Micron Technology, holding engineering and management positions in the process integration and yield enhancement departments.
Oreste holds various patents and is featured in several technical publications.
In 2020, Oreste was awarded with VLSI Semiconductor All Star for “charting KLA’s path into new markets related to More than Moore semiconductor technologies”
Oreste earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University La Sapienza in Rome, Italy.
Industry Trends & Future Outlook
Q: From your personal perspective, what do you see as the most important trends shaping the semiconductor industry over the next 5–10 years?
A: The semiconductor industry is at a pivotal time in its industry with AI driving massive investments in data center infrastructure mostly to train large language models (LLM).
I believe we are just at the beginning of what can profoundly reshape our society by providing immense opportunities to increase productivity and improve products and services in consumer and industrial sectors.
AI and semiconductors are closely intertwined. AI can’t scale without advancements in compute performance while maintaining costs and power consumption under control. Semiconductors can’t progress without the immense capital spent due to AI and the improvement that more intelligent algorithms can provide chip designers, manufacturers and equipment suppliers.
I expect this trend will stay for the long run.
Q: How do you personally stay informed or adapt to changes in this evolving landscape?
A: Collaboration is key at all levels in the semiconductor value chain.
From end customers (hyperscalers, mobile OEMs, car makers, etc.) to the equipment component suppliers, it’s important to have an open dialogue about performance gaps, technology trends, market requirements, etc.
Technical, networking and investor conferences are also a great way to stay informed.
Finally, I spend meaningful time to listen to company earning calls and reading their transcripts.
Technology & Innovation Strategy
Q: With rapid advances in semiconductor technologies and supporting innovations such as AI, 6G, and advanced chip design, how do you personally prioritize staying innovative?
A: A thorough environmental analysis is essential to kick off a successful strategic planning process.
The analysis will evaluate the market trends and dynamics, as well as the competitive landscape, which will help prioritize target markets and applications with high chance to win share.
After the target is identified, innovation is required to provide unique and differentiated solutions that will eventually drive high margins and profitability.
Q: Which emerging technologies do you find most exciting or potentially transformative for the industry?
A: AI is the key driver of semiconductor technology innovation, because of the immense demand for performance, speed, cost and power.
The stringent AI requirements are driving innovation in wafer frontend manufacturing (high NA EUV, GAA transistors), new power delivery architecture (backside power distribution network) and a pivotal change in packaging with the rise of chiplets.
I would say that the progression in advanced packaging is what excite me the most. We moved from a monolithic approach to the disaggregation of various chip functions at wafer level to re-aggregate them at packaging level, which is called heterogeneous integration.
With this new approach, packaging is becoming closer to the complexity of wafer frontend manufacturing, opening up new stream of revenue for chip manufacturers, equipment and material suppliers.
Global Supply Chain & Market Challenges
Q: The semiconductor industry faces a complex global supply chain and various market challenges. From your experience, how do you think professionals can navigate these risks effectively?
A: The semiconductor industry has a very global and complex supply chain which is challenged by demand cyclicality, although lower in the last 5-10 years vs. historical trend, and geopolitical tensions.
Governments all across the world are encouraging to regionalize the chips fabrication and the supply ecosystem by committing significant investments to help with the required capital. Companies will continue to balance globalization advantages vs. risks as part of their strategic planning process.
Sustainability & Social Impact
Q: As the semiconductor sector grows, sustainability and ethical considerations are increasingly important. From your perspective, what practices or strategies are most effective for promoting environmental responsibility and social impact?
A: The semiconductor industry is becoming increasingly connected with the overall society.
Once a niche industry with very little exposure to the vast world population, semiconductors are now at the front and center of how we communicate with each other, perform our work and entertain ourselves.
The post-pandemic chip shortage crisis and the rise of AI brought semiconductors on the front page of news and political agendas.
Because of the increased importance and visibility, the industry is also increasing its effort in environmental responsibility through a range of initiatives, including net-zero emission targets, transition to renewable energy and various water recycling and conservation programs.
As regards social impact, there is a concerted effort to encourage students from young age to be interested in STEM disciplines, by increasing the presence in primary and secondary schools.
Leadership Lessons & Personal Insights
Q: What was the toughest professional decision you’ve made, and what did you learn from it?
A: I spent all my professional life in the semiconductor industry, beginning to work as a process/yield engineer in a semiconductor wafer fab in Italy more than 32 years ago. At that time, this was a quite bold decision, because the industry was unknown and the prospect of a successful career was very remote, especially in Italy.
After seven years in the fab, I decided to move my family from Italy to Silicon Valley to be closer to the epicenter of technology innovation.
I never regretted these decisions, and I dedicated my life to learning how to better contribute to the industry. I believe that following passion and developing talent through intellectual curiosity and hard work is the recipe for success.
Q: What advice would you give to individuals, startups, or entrepreneurs entering the semiconductor industry today?
A: The semiconductor industry is the most intellectually stimulating industry in the world and it’s nowadays pivotal to the world society.
If you have an interest in technical challenges and you want to make a real impact to the world, consider a profession in the semiconductor industry. Stay humble, stay curious, do your best.